Woman vanished in 1967 after moving, IL officials say. Now her body is identified
'Martha Bassett's identity, lost to history for more than half a century, has been restored, allowing her family and community to honor her memory and finally lay her to rest,' officials said.
The body of 33-year-old Bassett was found on Sept. 30, 1968, but her identity would not be known until recently, the Will County Coroner's Office said in a July 24 news release.
The case, cold for 57 years, was solved using a combination of advanced DNA technology and help from family members after her case was reexamined starting in 2009, officials said.
Martha Bassett's move to Illinois
Bassett was living in Wapato, Washington, and moved to the Chicago area in 1960 under the Indian Relocation Act of 1956, officials said.
The federal initiative was designed to persuade Native Americans living on reservations to move to metropolitan areas such as Chicago and Denver, according to Illinois officials and the National Archives.
Those relocating were promised assistance with housing, but many indigenous people moving to these areas struggled to adjust to their new life and were met with 'low-end jobs' and discrimination, according to the National Archives.
Seven years after her move, Bassett's family lost contact with her, according to Will County officials. They even traveled to Chicago to search for her, but eventually returned home without finding her.
How her remains were identified
Bassett's body was buried at a cemetery in Wilmington, Illinois, after authorities were unable to identify her remains.
Bassett had been strangled and suffered blunt force trauma to the head, DNASolves.com said.
In 2009, about four decades after her body was discovered, Will County officials opened a cold case unit and started to reinvestigate her case. Her body was exhumed from the cemetery.
Some of her remains were sent to the University of North Texas and the Smithsonian Institute paleontology department, where it was determined the body belonged to a person of Native American descent, officials said.
Officials reached out to tribes in Illinois and surrounding states to ask about any outstanding missing persons cases from the 1960s. Flyers distributed within the tribes and posted on social media were created in an effort to link the remains with a missing persons case.
Eventually, a distant relative of Bassett was reached by investigators and assisted with creating a DNA profile of Bassett to officially match the missing woman's identity to the remains.
The relative helped investigators contact Bassett's niece, who helped Othram and local investigators officially identify Bassett.
Will County, Illinois, is about a 45-mile drive southwest from downtown Chicago.
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Miami Herald
4 days ago
- Miami Herald
Woman vanished in 1967 after moving, IL officials say. Now her body is identified
Human remains found by a worker in brush along the side of a road nearly six decades ago now have been identified as a missing woman, Illinois officials said. 'Martha Bassett's identity, lost to history for more than half a century, has been restored, allowing her family and community to honor her memory and finally lay her to rest,' officials said. The body of 33-year-old Bassett was found on Sept. 30, 1968, but her identity would not be known until recently, the Will County Coroner's Office said in a July 24 news release. The case, cold for 57 years, was solved using a combination of advanced DNA technology and help from family members after her case was reexamined starting in 2009, officials said. Martha Bassett's move to Illinois Bassett was living in Wapato, Washington, and moved to the Chicago area in 1960 under the Indian Relocation Act of 1956, officials said. The federal initiative was designed to persuade Native Americans living on reservations to move to metropolitan areas such as Chicago and Denver, according to Illinois officials and the National Archives. Those relocating were promised assistance with housing, but many indigenous people moving to these areas struggled to adjust to their new life and were met with 'low-end jobs' and discrimination, according to the National Archives. Seven years after her move, Bassett's family lost contact with her, according to Will County officials. They even traveled to Chicago to search for her, but eventually returned home without finding her. How her remains were identified Bassett's body was buried at a cemetery in Wilmington, Illinois, after authorities were unable to identify her remains. Bassett had been strangled and suffered blunt force trauma to the head, said. In 2009, about four decades after her body was discovered, Will County officials opened a cold case unit and started to reinvestigate her case. Her body was exhumed from the cemetery. Some of her remains were sent to the University of North Texas and the Smithsonian Institute paleontology department, where it was determined the body belonged to a person of Native American descent, officials said. Officials reached out to tribes in Illinois and surrounding states to ask about any outstanding missing persons cases from the 1960s. Flyers distributed within the tribes and posted on social media were created in an effort to link the remains with a missing persons case. Eventually, a distant relative of Bassett was reached by investigators and assisted with creating a DNA profile of Bassett to officially match the missing woman's identity to the remains. The relative helped investigators contact Bassett's niece, who helped Othram and local investigators officially identify Bassett. Will County, Illinois, is about a 45-mile drive southwest from downtown Chicago.
CBS News
25-07-2025
- CBS News
Investigators, forensic scientists help identify woman in 1968 cold case murder in Will County, Illinois
The Will County Coroner's Office released a major development in a half-century-old cold case. On Thursday, the office released the name of the woman who was murdered in the county in 1968. During that time, the headline read, 'Woman found dead.' Detectives in 1968 didn't know much more than that. "It states in the report they did go back to look for any evidence, and they didn't find anything," cold case investigator Bill Sheehan said. "We could tell you that there was blunt force trauma, so she died that way." In September 1968, highway workers found a woman's body in the woods along I-55 in Will County. "We're like, 'this one's going to be hard if not unsolvable," Sheehan said. Initial DNA testing of the remains in 2009 revealed the woman was Native American. "I emailed all the tribes in Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa," Sheehan said. But the break in the case didn't come until help from experts in DNA. "Their technology, it just blows my mind," Sheehan said. Othram, a Houston-based company, specializes in forensic genetic genealogy. "We build technology, a lot of it is DNA-based technology, that can help investigators immediately identify people associated with crime scenes," CEO David Mittelman said. It wasn't the first time that they've helped Will County. Identifying victims of cold cases, just like the one from 1968. "A lead developed from Othram to a lady in Washington," Sheehan said. Othram confirmed a family match and helped identify 33-year-old Martha Bassett. Sheehan said he was at an outing when he learned a match was made. "Well, you're going to laugh, I was at a golf outing," he said. "I jumped for joy. The guys I was with were like 'What's going on over there?' You know." Martha is no longer missing, but plenty of questions still need to be answered. "It's just the beginning of the story. Now, there's an investigation to determine what happened to her," Sheehan said.
Yahoo
25-07-2025
- Yahoo
Trump administration releases documents in MLK assassination
The Trump administration on Monday released hundreds of thousands of documents related to the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., fulfilling a pledge from President Trump despite some reluctance from the civil rights icon's children. The release makes more than 230,000 pages of files digitally available. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said the documents include details about the FBI's investigation into King's killing in 1968, internal memos about the case and details about the pursuit of James Earl Ray, who was convicted of killing the civil rights leader. Some of the records had been publicized previously through Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests. But officials touted that the document dump was the first time they had been made available online with minimal redactions. 'Today's record release marks a historic step in the Trump Administration's ongoing commitment to transparency and accountability,' Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who is also serving as the interim head of the National Archives (NARA), said in a statement. 'Preserving, protecting, and releasing the records of the U.S. government is at the core of NARA's mission,' Rubio added. 'Thanks to President Trump's leadership and a coordinated interagency process, NARA was able to review and release the records at an unprecedented speed.' Martin Luther King III and Bernice King, the two living children of Martin Luther King Jr., issued a lengthy statement on Monday in which they urged the public to view the newly released records 'within their full historical context,' pointing to what they called an 'invasive, predatory, and deeply disturbing disinformation and surveillance campaign orchestrated' by the FBI. 'While we support transparency and historical accountability, we object to any attacks on our father's legacy or attempts to weaponize it to spread falsehoods,' the King children said in a statement. 'We strongly condemn any attempts to misuse these documents in ways intended to undermine our father's legacy and the significant achievements of the movement. Those who promote the fruit of the FBI's surveillance will unknowingly align themselves with an ongoing campaign to degrade our father and the Civil Rights Movement.' Within days of taking office in January, Trump signed an executive order Thursday directing the release of federal government documents related to the assassinations of King, former President John F. Kennedy and former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy. King was shot and killed in Memphis in April 1968, and his assassination has remained the subject of conspiracy theories. 'While we continue to mourn his death, the declassification and release of these documents are a historic step towards the truth that the American people deserve,' King's niece, Alveda King, said in a statement shared by the Trump administration. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
